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Wildlife Habitat ManagementWSCI 6387
Lecture 1Introduction to Wildlife HabitatManagement
©Timothy Edward FulbrightCaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research InstituteKingsville, Texas 78363Timothy.fulbright@tamuk.edu
Pre-test for Student LearnerOutcomes
Answer each question as best you can
This is not for a grade
Overview of Course
Lecture: Two Basic Sections
Basic concepts
Applied habitat management
Two field trips
Overview of Course
Student presentations
Topics
15-minute powerpointpresentation
Term paper
Graded by instructor and class
2 exams + final
Review of syllabus
Objectives of Lecture
Introduce the habitat concept
Importance of habitat loss
Discuss contemporary ideas on standardizationof terminology regarding habitat
Discuss the importance of ecological nicherelationships in understanding why animalsselect certain habitats
Important Points
The term ‘habitat’is often misused
The term habitat type should be avoided indiscussions of wildlife-habitat relationships
Habitat management should be conceptualized andapplied at the landscape level
Animals and their habitat coevolved, so human-imposed changes may have dramatic effects
Researchers should measure factors that explain whyorganisms select a certain site, not just document thatthey do so
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Reading
Chapters 1-3 in Morrison et al. 2006. Wildlife-habitat relationships: concepts and applications, 3
rd
edition. Island Press, Washington.
Morrison, M.L. 2001. A proposed research emphasisto overcome the limits of wildlife-habitat relationshipstudies. Journal of Wildlife Management 65:613-623.
Hall, L.S., P.R. Krausman, and M.L. Morrison. 1997.The habitat concept and a plea for standardizedterminology. Wildlife Society Bulletin 25: 173-182.
Guthery, F. S. 1997. A philosophy of habitatmanagement for northern bobwhites. Journal of Wildlife Management 61:291-301
Habitat Loss & Degradation
Loss of habitat is the most significant threat towildlife conservation in the United States
Habitat loss is the major cause of declines inwildlife populations
Habitat Loss & Degradation
Fahrig, L. 1997. Relative effects of habitat loss andfragmentation on population extinction. Journal of Wildlife Management 61:603-610.
Wennergren(1995) suggests how habitats arearranged in space can mitigate the risks of speciesextinctions from habitat loss
Effects of habitat loss far outweigh effects of habitatfragmentation
Details of how habitats are arranged cannot usuallymitigate the risks of habitat loss
Conservation efforts should be aimed foremost atstopping habitat loss and at habitat restoration
Habitat Loss & Degradation
Texas –133 million acres of wildlife habitatremain
Texas -178,700 rural acres/year from 1992 to1997 were converted to urban use
Rate of habitat loss is accelerating as thehuman population continues to increase.
Habitat Loss & Degradation
50% of the land in Texas “set aside”for conservation is in 2 counties in west Texas(primarily ChihuahuanDesert)
87-94% of land in Texas privately owned
Habitat Loss & Degradation
In addition to the accelerating loss of habitat, thequality of the remaining habitat is being degraded bya variety of factors, including fragmentation as larger ranches are continually broken up into smaller ranches and ranchettes, oil and gas activity,construction of wind farms, range management practices such as brush control directed at increasinglivestock production, and excessive livestock grazing.
The rate of habitat degradation and consequent loss of wildlife species and numbers of animals is difficult toquantify.
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Habitat
“The resources and conditions present in anarea that produce occupancy –includingsurvival and reproduction –by a givenorganism (Hall et al. 1997).
Habitat quality is “the ability of theenvironment to provide conditions appropriatefor individual and population persistence”Hallet al. (1997).
Habitat
Habitat is species specific
Statements like “this is good wildlife habitat”are misleading
For example
Good white-tailed deer habitat may be poor muledeer habitat
Good habitat for lark sparrows is poor habitat for olive sparrows
Habitat
‘Classical’habitat components
Food
Cover
Water
Space
Habitat
Vegetation is a central component of wildlifehabitat
Provides cover and food for omnivores,herbivores, frugivores, and granivores
Habitat
Cover types
Security or hiding cover
Thermal cover
Loafing (resting) cover/coverts
Cover may also be provided by landscapefeatures such as rocks
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